The present invention relates to an article loader and, more particularly, to a case packer of the type having a member mounted on a support to guide an article into a cell.
Case packers of the type herein under discussion normally include a bottle conveying apparatus, in the form of a conveyor belt or the like, designed to provide a continuous stream of bottles to a loading platform where the bottles are accumulated in the desired pattern. The bottles are fed to the top surface of a displaceable loading grid located in the loading platform. When the bottles are in the desired pattern, the loading grid is displaced, such that it no longer supports the bottles, and same drop into a waiting case.
A case or carton having a plurality of cells therein, formed by upstanding interlocking partitions, is positioned underneath the platform such that each cell therein is aligned with a different one of the bottles located on the platform. The case is then moved relative to the platform to reduce the distance therebetween. When the case is properly positioned relative to the loading platform, the bottles are released from the platform.
The partitions in the case are often not initially positioned correctly to form cells of the required dimensions. The misalignment of the partitions must be corrected if the bottles are to be inserted into the cells. Positioning of the partitions and guiding of the bottles therein is achieved by a guide mechanism interposed between the platform and the case. The guide mechanism positions the cell partitions such that same do not obstruct the paths through which the bottles move and, further, provides a funnel-type structure to guide the bottles into the cells.
As the case is moved relative to the guide mechanism, the guide members are inserted into the case and interact with the cell partitions to initially position same. After the guide members are fully inserted into the cell, the bottles are released. As the bottles pass through the guide mechanism, the weight of the bottles causes the guide members to move outwardly, causing the partitions to move all the way to their respective proper positions, such that the individual cells are of proper dimensions.
After each case is loaded, it is moved downwardly with respect to the guide mechanism and transferred to the output side of the case packer, such that it can be loaded on the pallet or the like for storage or shipment. At the same time, an empty case is conveyed to a position below the guide mechanism and is thereafter lifted into the loading position.
Conventional guide mechanisms include a grid of upstanding stationary supports with openings therein aligned with the cells in the case, such that the bottles, once released from the platform, can pass through the respective openings in the guide mechanism and into the cells. Because the upstanding partitions which form the cell walls are often initially misaligned with respect to each other, it is necessary that the guide mechanism serve to properly position the partitions to permit insertion of the bottles therein. If the partitions which form the cell walls are not properly positioned, the wall of the bottle, as same is dropped from the platform, may contact the edge of one of the partitions, either preventing the bottle from being inserted into the cell, or crushing the partition--which is normally made of relatively thin corrugated paperboard or the like. These conditions are intolerable because same may result in an improperly packed case and/or loose bottles which must be manually removed from the line.
In order to correct misalignment of the partitions which form the cell walls and to properly guide the bottles into the cells, guide members, commonly referred to as "fingers" because of their elongated structure, are mounted on the support grid such that they extend downwardly therefrom towards the case. The fingers are either flexible and fixedly mounted to the support grid, or rigid and pivotally mounted in a spring-loaded manner to the support grid, such that same are movable from a normally closed position to an open position as the bottle moves therebetween.
In most conventional guide mechanisms, for each cell in the case, four fingers are provided, each finger being mounted on the support grid such that it is aligned with a corner of the cell or one of the cell walls. However, in certain instances, it is possible to use only two fingers per cell, the fingers being positioned to align with opposite corners of the cell. This structure is fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,603 issued Oct. 23, 1979 to John A. Wiseman, and entitled: "Guide Mechanism For Loading Wide-Mouth Bottles In Cases", to which the reader is referred.
When rigid members or fingers are utilized, as disclosed in the above-mentioned patent in one form, and in many other prior art devices embodying other forms, same are spring loaded towards a closed position, wherein the guide members or fingers converge and are downwardly and inwardly inclined such that the peripheral edges of the extreme lower section of each of the guide members or fingers is in proximity to, in engagement with, or in overlapping relationship with the peripheral edges of the extreme lower sections of the adjacent members, so as to form a generally conical or wedge-shaped tip structure.
As the case is moved relative to the guide mechanism, immediately prior to loading of the bottles therein, the tip formed by the convergence of the lower sections of the guide members is first received into the aligned cell. As the converged members are received deeper and deeper into the cell, misalignment of the partitions which form the cell walls is gradually partially corrected by straightening the partitions such that the partitions will not obstruct the path of the incoming bottle. The bottles are then released from the platform and dropped between the converged guide members or fingers. The guide members or fingers, still in the closed position, act to guide the bottle into the cell in funnel-like fashion.
As the bottle travels down the fingers, the fingers are moved apart by the bottle until they are in an opened, substantially vertical position, thereby serving to guide the bottle into the cell, while further opening the partitions. In the opened position, the fingers are substantially parallel to the cell walls. After the case is loaded, the case is moved downwardly relative to the guide mechanism, withdrawing the fingers from the cell and, thereafter, the loaded case is removed from the case packer. Once the fingers clear the case, they are spring loaded to return to the closed position--ready to guide the next set of bottles into a case.
Thus, the fingers must be mounted on the support grid in a manner such that they normally assume the closed position, but may be pivoted by an article, as same is loaded into a cell, to an opened position. A variety of different structures for movably mounting the rigid guide fingers to the support grid have been devised.
However none of these mounting structures has proven to be entirely satisfactory in use. A disadvantage of the early prior art mounting structures was that the resilient means, used to bias the fingers towards the closed position, was not disposed in a protected position so that when a jam did occur, the resilient means became damaged either directly by the jam or indirectly as a result of the efforts required to clear the jam. In an effort to protect the resilient means urging the fingers to their closed position against damage by articles dropping through the passage, many of the more recent prior art mounting structures position the resilient means far from the passage. For example, some employ a circular or garter coil tension spring mounted atop a mounting member to bias simultaneously a plurality of fingers on that mounting member, while others employ a leaf spring depending from the mounting member, each leaf spring acting on the rear of an associated finger. However, after frequent intermittent stretching and retracting, circular tension springs may lose part of their resiliency and thus not be capable of suitably positioning and biasing the fingers. Similarly, after frequent intermittent flexing, spring steel leaf springs may lose their memory and thus not be capable of returning the fingers to their original closed position. A characteristic disadvantage of many prior art mounting structures is that repair or replacement of parts is a complicated and time-consuming process. A further disadvantage of many prior art mounting structures is the limitations which they place upon the pivotal movement of the fingers relative to the mounting structure. As a result, when a jam occurs in the articles being loaded into the case, the fingers are not capable of accommodating in all directions necessary and to the extent necessary; thus the fingers become twisted or broken, requiring down-time for replacement.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a guide mechanism for a case packer or the like which enables the fingers essentially unlimited universal pivotal movement about the mounting structure, thereby to reduce finger breakage.
Another object is to provide such a guide mechanism which employs a resilient means (other than a garter spring or leaf spring) both to connect the finger to the mounting structure and to cooperate with the top of the finger and the bottom of the mounting structure to bias the finger to its closed position.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a guide mechanism in which repair and replacement of the parts is facilitated generally and, more specifically, a single finger or finger/spring subassembly or block/finger/resilient means subassembly may be replaced without disassembly of other portions of the guide mechanism.
A further object is to provide such a guide mechanism in which the resilient means are disposed closely adjacent the articles as they pass through the passage yet are protected from damage thereby.
The present invention also has as its object the provision of a finger suitable for use in such a guide mechanism.